The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-06
JACKSONVILLE.
The Railroad Commission.
Ab>urdity of the Mckinne Bill
Clearly Shown.
intenies With Railroad Man Rev Or. Wards
Suicide The Olhette a militarr, Ball.


| SI.'i.fi fu NJ. I'ti'ff.r N,HrS.
| JACKSONVILLE. FLA. Nav ,.
| IF the McKinne railroad commission
bill is passed 10y the Legislature. il will
| bankrupt every railroad now in the State
and put an end to amy new railway
| building i'm Florida for the next ten
| wears. remarked a conservative and
| nty~ervant railroad man To- THE PALATKA
! News correspondent this morning.
''NeS. sir he continued. Il tell you.
Florida Is not yet ripe for railroad com
mission AT all and such bill as the Nc
| kinne nnc. with it, many restrictions
and irnn-,'lad provisions would bring un-
thought nf ruin and disaster to the rail
] way interests Of the State. Railroad
building in Florida may Yet bc said 10
be in itS infancy and such bill as that
now said to be successfully carried ont
| in Georgia is not suited 10 a young and
thinIy populated State like ours.
why. sir. there. Is hardly a railroad
now i'm Florida that i7 earning the inter
est ON its bonds. and To hamper them
with such an i'm .ubus of restrictions as
the bill provides. you might just a. well
place the last one Of them i'm the hands
of a receiver at once. Why the absurd
ity of som" of it provisions Think. for
instance. "f passing hill placing lot
of young struggling corporations in tin.
hands of three or four men. in all proba-
bIlity inexperienced and untried in rail
road matters. and giving them absolute
Il.
and rates and other interests and making
their decisions definite and final. without
the right of appeal To the courts of the
land. 1t cannot bc pn--ibl,' that men of
sense. men who have sworn To- protect
the rights and interests of the people of
the State. can bs induced To- pass such
legislation.
Il should think the Legislature. would
go slow in establishing any commission
at all, and certainly not the McKinnc
bill. Railroad commissions have but re
Gently proved a great failure in the
Stater of Kentucky and Tennessee and
other States Of the Union. and predict
the failure of tn" experiment here in
Florida But what costly and drtri-
mental experiment II may prove before
the error may be corrected.
Th, i. in substance. not what
one railroad man has said tu me.
recently, hut Is TN. almost universal
expression of the leading railway men
throughout the State. 81 | am informed.
I'm a brief round among a few of the
leading business men of this city. men
doing annualIv-a larg" shipping bust
Ness, also find 4 similar sentiment
prevailing. They say a railroad com
mission may be good thing in a thickIy
settled State lik" Georgia. with it, perfect
network of roads. hut they lo not think
the timt. has vet arrived i'm Florida.
REV. DIR. WARDS SUICIDE.
Last night dispatches contain the in
telligence of the suicide of the Rev.
Chas. w Ward. the Episcopal clergy
man. of EngIewood. y. J.. who recently
made an attempt To murder his wife and
child, and who was under Indictment
for the offence. He was found dead i'm
bed at the home of hi, counsel. J. II. {.
Drew. ESD. al Rockland Lake.
y. y. He is supposed Ia hav"
taken an over dose of chloraI. with suici-
dial intent. TIN, Rev. Mr.. Ward was for
mcrly in charge of the Episcopal chapel
at Maitland, Orange County. this State.
and il we'll known t. many people in
that section. Judge Drew formerly re-
sided i'm Florida and was Attorney Gen
craI of the State in 1865 -. under Gov.
Harrison Reed.
THE NEW STEAMSHIP ''oIIN ETTE.
Mr.. and Mrs. II. B. Plant. Judge W.
=. Chisholm. F. Blum. Esq. DIR. W. W.
Strew. and NJ. +. Louyhman arrived
here yesterday. en route from their
trip to Havana. on the first trip of the
Olivette. They We're about town to-day
under the general guidance of Capt. J.
VI. Fitzgerald. Mr.. Plant H. very proud
of his Florida and Havana line ami say.
the Olivette Is a fine ship.
JACKSONVILLE LIGHT GUARD HOF.
The Jacksonville Light Infantry. our
crack military company. is making elabo-
rate preparations Ia give a grand compli
mentary hop very soon in honor of their
gallant Captain. II NJ Call. who recently
took unto himself "A better half in the lovely
person of Miss Ida {. Holmes. Of this
city. Captain and Mrs. Call have just
returned from an extensive bridal tour.